OPPO VIEW: B'BURN

Blackburn come to the SoL on Easter Monday sat 10th in the league, with nothing to play for. We spoke to the lads who run the Blackburn Rovers Community Site to discuss how their season has been slightly deflating, how they think this one will go and who they want to win the play-offs... spoiler, it's not Burnley!

Last time we spoke ahead of our Boxing Day matchup, Blackburn were sitting fifth, looking at the play-offs. A few months later and nearing the end of the campaign, Blackburn are out of the play-off picture with a mid table finish on the horizon. What caused the drop in league position?

There was no single cause, rather an accumulation of factors. Thin squad, injuries, suspensions, loss of form through December all had an impact. No significant investment in January led to the departure of John Eustace, new manager comes in, period of adjustment… net result = slump.

You did speak highly about John Eustace earlier in the season, what is the verdict on his replacement Valerien Ismael?

The jury’s out on Ismael, who has been here since late February and hadn't won a game until this mini-run we've put together, winning our last two games.

With Andi Weimann out injured, is it Yuki Ohashi and Makhtar Gueye we should be worried about the most?

Ohashi has been one of the bright spots of our random recruitment strategy & it’s likely he was brought in by a scout no longer with Rovers! Ismael doesn’t seem to fancy Gueye, which is surprising given his physical characteristics, but he may well start on Monday due to the need to rotate the squad.

It's quite refreshing to see Danny Batth back playing regularly and enjoying his football. Many Sunderland fans loved him during his time here and we're sure he'll get a good reception from the home fans. How's he been this season? 

Solid & dependable, great signing for us. Two years ago we refused to give him a two year deal so he went to Norwich but one year ago we gave him a one year deal. In the summer we will probably offer him new terms – that in a nutshell outlines Rovers' sophisticated recruitment strategy & deployment…

Who has been your best player of the season? 

The midfield duo of Tronstad & Travis have been our most reliable/consistent performers. At the moment, Tronstad (deservedly IMO) leads the BRFCS.com polling for Player Of The Match across the season. Both have just one year left on their current contracts – again, Rovers' recruitment strategy in full effect.

Sunderland are strolling to the playoffs with less intensity and rotated squads, so it's hard to say who will and won't play. That said, who worries you the most from Sunderland that you may be hoping does not play on Monday? 

To be quite honest with you, I do not worry about the opposition – it’s out of our control. You will select who best suits your objectives. Rovers have an uncanny knack of tripping up against the supposed weaker teams and putting in a shift against sterner opponents so for our sakes, it might be best if you put out your All Star XI. Bring back Quinn, Phillips, Gabbiadini…

That said, Bellingham & Isidor regularly catch the eye.

Blackburn are on a two game winning streak, including a derailing of Alex Neil's Millwall play-off hopes on Friday after smashing them 4-1, meanwhile Sunderland are on a two game losing run. How do you see Monday playing out?

Wholly unpredictably. Rovers are the Revels team of the Championship. All scorelines are possible. We have a Harry Redknapp style “bare bones” squad right now so it depends how knackered we are after Friday. I’d shake hands on a point now!

And finally, who do you see going up in the play-offs? (You don't have to say Sunderland if you don't think so!)

We need someone to urgently prick the Burnley bubble and have them miss out on automatics on goal difference… ideally on the final day, perhaps as a result of us losing 19-0 at Bramall Lane – that would be funny.

Any team facing them obviously would have our undying support. The top three should go up on paper but it doesn’t often play out like that. Chris Wilder is a bit of a plonker, Frank Lampard is defying the odds. You have as much chance as anyone, frankly.